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An odd message arrived in the RPG Codex inbox in June. Codex user/lurker Math Fool was telling us he was going to the Tokyo Game Show, which was to take place September 18th to 21st, and that he could cover the show for the Codex if we wanted him to. Later, it turned out Tales Of Game's' and our very own eric_s' Barkley 2 was going to be showcased at TGS. And as you may know, we have been following that game fairly closely.

So we thought: okay, at least he'll take a look at Barkley 2 for us, and secured a press pass for Math Fool. Barkley 2 alone wasn't enough to make an entire article though, so we padded it out with general JRPG- and otaku-related stuff. You know, like we usually do here on the Codex.

Anyway, here's the excerpt on Barkley 2:

Barkley 2 is a direct sequel to the indie RPG Barkley Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden. Set 4000 years after the original game in the year 666X, the story focuses on a character who has lost his memories and adopts an identity to explore the world of Necron 7. The character creation process is very involved and can last as long as 30 minutes. One gamer at TGS actually died during this process, which then has a lasting impact on your character for the remainder of the game.

Barkley 2 embracing its Japanese roots.

Your choices impact the story in Barkley 2, and no game is quite like another. There are over 20 possible endings in this 15-hour quest, and every action is tracked in the game. Not only how often you die but the types of death your character experiences will contribute to his overall fate. You can earn experience points by playing video games, or choose to keep games in their original mint packaging instead.

Combat occurs in real-time using a dual thumb stick interface. I played using an Xbox One controller, and the action is fast and furious. In addition to standard combat, there is also a turn-based tactical basketball strategy game that was reminiscent of Blitzball from Final Fantasy X. Finally, there is a detailed item breeding and creation process in which guns can evolve over time and pass down their characteristics to future generations.

The turn-based B-Ball game

To be honest, I had never heard of Barkley 2 before coming to TGS. The story of both games are very unique, wacky and original. It’s the kind of game that normally falls under my radar screen, but it was good to play something that was not another big budget franchise sequel for a change.

Barkley 2 is coming initially to PC, Mac and Linux, with future ports to PS4 and XB1, and potentially the PS3 and Xbox 360. The game will be available “when it’s ready.”​

On a related note, eric_s aka cboyardee recently posted on the SA forums that Barkley 2's quests will basically blow all the Kickstarter games out of the water:

Not to knock Wasteland or anything, I think it's cool and I've really enjoyed it so far, but it's crazy how different it is from Barkley 2. I guess for the last few years I've had it in my head that Wasteland and all these other big kickstarter games are the metric by which we're going to be judged (I have no idea why) and obviously it excels in areas where Barkley can't even come close, like polish, but our approach to quest design and their approach are just different games all together. Kind of crazy to me, actually, that we're still O.K. with like straight up no-frills fetch quests. I haven't seen the whole game and I like everything I've seen so far, but I seriously hope every other RPG cannibalizes our quests.​

He also says "it's taking long because we want it to be really good." No pressure at all, Eric.

Finally, don't forget to check out the full article, if only for the numerous booth babes pics. That's why people attend these kinds of events, right?

Master Chris Avellone upon seeing a bee fly vertically said:

Nothing straight is worth doing anyway but crooked, from a beeline to an arrow flight.

Basically, I just don't like the entire concept of masturbation, so stop telling me to do it cause I won't. It's like telling a nigger to passionately kiss a niggress in a public place or something. Or asking a vegan to eat a rare steak. Or asking a mother to throw her only child off a building. Or something like that.
I won't do it, and that's that.

On a related note, eric_s aka cboyardee recently posted on the SA forums that Barkley 2's quests will basically blow all the Kickstarter games out of the water

Click to expand...

ahaha, I didn't mean it like that, just that our approach to quest structure is very, very different. Expect more things like the poem quest and that chup mine quest from the first one. Quests with very non-traditional structures and goals.

On a related note, eric_s aka cboyardee recently posted on the SA forums that Barkley 2's quests will basically blow all the Kickstarter games out of the water

Click to expand...

ahaha, I didn't mean it like that, just that our approach to quest structure is very, very different. Expect more things like the poem quest and that chup mine quest from the first one. Quests with very non-traditional structures and goals.

Click to expand...

Sounds like I was correct, then.

Master Chris Avellone upon seeing a bee fly vertically said:

Nothing straight is worth doing anyway but crooked, from a beeline to an arrow flight.

More options

On a related note, eric_s aka cboyardee recently posted on the SA forums that Barkley 2's quests will basically blow all the Kickstarter games out of the water

Click to expand...

ahaha, I didn't mean it like that, just that our approach to quest structure is very, very different. Expect more things like the poem quest and that chup mine quest from the first one. Quests with very non-traditional structures and goals.

Click to expand...

So, what you mean is, the quests will be exactly as Crooked Bee described them.